Racial Harmony

Last updated: 10 days ago

The Office of Racial Harmony and their Archdiocesan Implementation Committee are fully committed to assisting all parishes, schools, administrative offices and individual Catholics of the Archdiocese of New Orleans in faithfully learning and implementing ways to promote racial harmony so as to build a more loving, accepting and respectful community. We are dedicated to addressing the sin of racism and working to change hearts and minds so that the rich blessings of pluriculturalism, diversity and ethnic inclusion will be appreciated. We desire to fulfill the command of Jesus – to live as one body, unified in faith.

In response to Pope Francis’ call to go out into the community to encounter and dialogue with others to
promote peace, the Office of Racial Harmony in collaboration with Catholic Charities and Isaiah 43 hold Peace Prayer Walks on the last Tuesday of every month. Locations of the monthly walks are published in the Clarion Herald. To receive e-mail reminders each month, please email srrooney@arch-no.org.

Suggested Activity to Promote Racial Harmony in Parishes:

Within Home Your Home Parish:

Participate in the study series on “Made in the Image and Likeness of God, a Pastoral Letter on Racial Harmony” by Archbishop Alfred Hughes.

Form a parish racial harmony ministry.

Encourage the members of the racial harmony ministry, DRE, school and CCD religion teachers to attend “Race, the Power of an Illusion” and “Made in the Image and Likeness of God, a Pastoral letter on Racial Harmony” offered by ACCP/ORE. Information is available from ORE or www.orearchdio-no.com.

Include a prayer for racial harmony in the Prayers of the Faithful at least once each month.

Personally invite people from different racial/ethnic groups to be actively involved in the parish life, e.g. pastoral council, finance committee, school board.

Partner with a parish with an ethnically/racially different population.

Put announcements of interest from partner parish in bulletin.

With Partner Parish

Exchange

lectors

pulpits

choirs

Examples of Joint Ministry Activities

Right to Life committees pray outside the abortion clinic together

men’s clubs meet for dinner and football night

Altar societies join to decorate both churches for Christmas

Choirs produce a joint Christmas Concert, go together to sing at senior residences and nursing homes

Parishioners picnic together on Family Day

Hold Men’s Retreat at one parish and Women’s Retreat at partner parish

Resources and Links

Relevant Links

Relevant Documents

Made in the Image and Likeness of God, a Pastoral Letter on Racial Harmony: Discussion Series

Sessions are conducted by trained facilitators and all work is done in small table groups.Participants are encouraged to attend all four evenings in the series.For further information or to schedule discussions contact the Office of Racial Harmony by e-mail at srrooney@arch-no.org or (504) 621-4530.

Resources for Exploring Racial Harmony/Racism

The resources below are broken down into several major categories by source, subject matter and general intent of the authors/editors. Those marked with an *asterisk are highly recommended, and those with a **double asterisk are most highly recommended.

Catholic Resources

*American Catholic Social Teaching. Thomas J. Massaro and Thomas A. Shannon, eds. The Liturgical Press, 2002. [Especially useful is a CD-ROM with significant social justice documents from American Catholic bishops, individually and collectively, including their last major pastoral letter on race relations, Brothers and Sisters to Us.]

Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself: U.S. Catholic Bishops Speak Against Racism, January 1997-June 2000. U.S. Catholic Conference, 2001 [Now out of print]

Portuguese

Racial Sobriety is a process which enables us to witness to ourselves and others that our thinking, feeling and acting reflects our commitment to seeing each person as a child of God, a member of the same human family, and our brother or our sister. Throughout the workshop we become more aware of our own attitudes toward others and enter into the process of transforming our own hearts and minds so that we may begin to see others with “sober” eyes. In this context “sober” means Seeing Others as Being Entitled to Respect. When we are transformed we can begin to influence those around us and help facilitate their transformation, too.

Introducing Racial Sobriety is a 2½ - 3 hour facilitated workshop that introduces the audience to a unifying approach to begin the conversation on racisms (the varying manifestations of racism). The experience includes an explanation of the three elements of talking about race that typically bring on anxiety: fear, ignorance and guilt. It facilitates a discussion on finding one’s own “voice” in the conversation on racial issues; allows for a discovery of one’s “Racial History” and introduces other instruments for continuing one’s understanding of the Racial Sobriety approach.

The Archdiocese of New Orleans provides facilitators certified by the Institute for Recovery from Racism. For information on the institute visit www.racialsobriety.com. To arrange for a workshop contact our office at 861-6272 or srrooney@arch-no.org

Consider becoming “Partners in Harmony” with another elementary school whose students have a different racial demographic or cultural heritage.

Hold a Partners in Harmony:

Picnic

Cultural Field Trip and Lunch, one class at a time.

Lunch and Recess – each school host one class from the partner school.

Field Day.

Movie and Popcorn Night – each school host the partner school.

Social activities for all adult groups, e.g., school board, faculties, etc.

School Liturgy. Mix your choirs. Teach songs ahead of time to all classes.

Read Across America Day. 8th graders read to the Kindergarten students of partner school.

Program Exchange. Attend each other’s Christmas, Black History or other programs.

At your own school:

Faculty and Staff read and discuss Made in the Image and Likeness of God, a Pastoral Letter on Racial Harmony. Discuss how it can be age-appropriately implemented at each grade level.

Include a daily prayer for racial harmony at assemblies, liturgies, school board and PTA meetings.

Use the Kids’ Clarion to highlight your activities and to publish children’s prayers, art, essays and poems.

Have a year round bulletin board in foyer or cafeteria with a racial harmony theme. Use it to post pictures of Partners in Harmony activities, students’ prayers, essays, poems and art.

Have students interview their elders to learn the family history, cultural practices and celebrations. Share these stories with their Partners in Harmony.

Hold a Multi-Cultural Day – invite speakers, story-tellers, musicians, chefs, college professors, artists of various racial/ethnic backgrounds. Ask the guests to wear their native dress if possible.

Involve each class and their room parents in planning activities.

Teach the lives of the saints mentioned in the implementation plan of the pastoral, #4 under Recommendations for Parishes and purchase pictures and/or statues of these saints.

Insure that all races in the school are represented on Student Council, PTA and school boards.

Allow students to display their baby/childhood pictures on a classroom bulletin board. Have them find pictures of babies of all races. Help your class choose a caption such as “We are children of the Lord”, “Children of the King”, “Jesus loves the Little Children of the World.

Ask the music teacher to teach a song to tie in with your bulletin board, e.g. “Jesus Loves the Little Children”.

Stock your library with multi-ethnic authors and books. When having a book sale, check that the company can provide multi-ethnic materials.

Beginning with your own students, read the folklore of all races and countries and explore the similarities and differences.

Celebrate the major holidays and feast days of all races.

Check out the many websites that promote racial harmony.

Become “Partners in Harmony” with a high school with a different racial demographic or cultural heritage.